I am so privileged! My wife, Jo Anne, is the world's best wife. I grew up in a Quaker family of six children in the Willamette Valley of Oregon. Early in my life, as a country boy, I rattled around but also centered on what became my true underlying lifelong vocation. This led to many marvelous adventures which, aided by Jo's total encouragement, included: Helping raise a family of superb children and grandchildren who care about other people; two years as a scrub nurse in a US Army Station Hospital in Germany; teaching elementary school for three years; eight years of medical training resulting in almost 30 years of private practice of Internal Medicine; teaching Resident Physicians under Oregon Health Sciences University for eight years; and ten trips to other hurting parts of the world, mostly with Medical Teams International (most recently to Afghanistan twice, to Iraq, Liberia, Sumatra, Sri Lanka and Uganda). These experiences led me to a growing awareness of the importance of my own stories and those I was hearing. I began with the exploration of my childhood experiences as in my book MUDWATCHING: ADVENTURING WITH GRANDPA. Writing this book has helped me think about the other stories that have had a lasting impact on my life, such as, a cowboy patient with a broken pelvis surviving a snowy night on Swan Lake Mountain, cuddled by his two dogs; thousands of ill and starving refugees; the unforgetable smell of decaying bodies killed in massive earthquakes; Flomo, a small boy in Liberia near death who, one week later, reached up and took my hand and walked with me toward his home; and many more stories, almost innumerable, emotionally effecting me deeply. I am currently working on recording these and many more stories. We all have important, valuable, and life-defining stories. It is vital that we remember them and pass them on.

In addition to the experiences related above, for 40 years I found short periods of relaxation in following my Redbone hounds, often in remote canyons and mountains, away from troubled humanity. I currently work part time as a Medical Director for Klamath Hospice, help with a kids' class, serve as an elder in our Friends Church Yearly Meeting, raise gardens, get sore knees, mow grass, and listen to my wife. I thank God for all of these privileges and more.